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Further Proof Something Is In The Water In North Carolina: Nyamodi Youth Own Attorney Threatens Client Saying He Will Help Prosecution Convict Him With 30 Year Prison Sentence

When young Shannon Nyamodi was charged with an awful crime back on August 16, 2012 in which police authorities allege the black youth shot Rhonda MacClean in the face at point blank range and robbed her in the town of Youngsville, North Carolina, his family in the U.S., Africa, and other nations abroad chipped in to raise the youth’s legal expenses. They hired well known North Carolina attorney Maitry “Mike” Klinkosum to defend Shannon in a case many believe the teen was essentially setup and framed as the assailant who perpetrated such a heinous crime.

Klinkosum who is actually a former state prosecutor, has done nothing to aid Shannon Nyamodi in his quest to regain his freedom. From the very start the plight of a young man who had no prior criminal history, and wanted to join the U.S. Armed Forces, was faced with a tremendous upheaval. When his family began shopping around for an attorney to defend him, Klinkosum had been hired as Shannon’s defense counsel, but was even told later on by the Nyamodi family that they were going to go with someone else. The family had sought to get their money back ($30,000.00) before Klinkosum manipulated Shannon into signing paperwork naming him as his attorney. He visited the Nyamodi youth at the county jail on a Sunday and stated that if he signed the documents he would have him out of jail by Monday morning at the latest. The teen’s naivety to the criminal justice process, and his family’s inexperience related to obtaining a hired lawyer is exactly how Klinkosum became the youth’s attorney.

Klinkosum’s actions have been so counterproductive in defending Shannon Nyamodi that his mother is convinced that he is working for the prosecution against her son. The mother’s fears have just taken center stage in recent days. Ms. Elizabeth Crudup (Shannon’s mother) spoke with her son over  the phone this past Tuesday (1/14/2014) and was told by him that he couldn’t speak with her any longer until after his upcoming court date (1/21/2014). She was so alarmed by her son’s bizarre comments, his frame of mind, and began to quiz him. The youth told his mother that attorney Klinkosum had threatened him with jail time. According to Crudup, her son had even told jail officials that he no longer wanted contact with his mother. Extended dialogue between Shannon and his mother revealed that his own attorney had stated, “if you talk to your mother again or anyone else related to his case, I will make certain you get 30 years in prison.” Shannon’s younger sister also received a text message from her Aunt (the family member who wrote the $30,000 check) stating that Klinkosum had threatened to help the state prosecute Shannon also. Klinkosum apparently has taken issue with the National attention Shannon Nyamodi’s story has garnered in recent weeks.

When Ms. Crudup went to Klinkosum’s office to give him a copy of the Habeas Corpus document for her son at the direction of judge Hobgood, a secretary requested that she leave the building immediately because they (Law office) wasn’t taking anything from her. Crudup luckily had an entourage with her on that day, and when she left the  building the Habeas document was accepted by an office secretary from others who had accompanied her there. Klinkosum had been so inept representing Shannon Nyamodi that his mother began investigating why the criminal process in her son’s case was taking so long. She discovered that Klinkosum had agreed to allow the state to take the youth’s case off the North Carolina Superior Court Management Docket System indefinitely. The attorney’s actions related to such a motion granted by the court raised suspicion by the Nyamodi family. Why would any defense attorney ignore his own client’s right to a speedy trial and allow him to languish in jail for an infinite period of time?

The case has been off the docket for nearly a year with no pending charges against Shannon Nyamodi, and his attorney hasn’t made any effort to bring the case into court. In fact, the only reason Shannon will be making a court appearance on the 21st is because Action for Justice (a criminal justice advocacy group) composed a Habeas document outlining the severity of constitutional rights violations related to the case. The day Ms. Crudup presented the Habeas to judge Hobgood, a county court clerk was listening in on a phone call via speaker from Crudup to Klinkosum’s office, advising him of Shannon’s January 21, 2014 court date to address the Habeas. The county clerk overheard Klinosum’s office stating that they wouldn’t be in court on that day because the attorney was too booked. Continued exposure of the case more than likely resulted in a volume of calls to the attorney’s office, and on January 11, 2014 Klinkosum telephoned Ms. Brenda Nyamodi who is Shannon’s Aunt, and advised her that he would be returning the $30,000.00 in it’s entirety and would quit the case on Monday (1/13) because Shannon’s mother had put his name all over the internet and that he has a family which he was afraid some crazy person might attempt to harm.

Monday came and went without the money being returned, and on Tuesday Shannon advised his mother that Klinkosum threatened him by helping the state convict him with a 3o year prison sentence. Klinkosum notified Brenda Nyamodi on Wendsday and made similar threats pertaining to Shannon’s mother involvement in the case. These strange turn of events with Klinkosum backing off on his plans to quit the case are very alarming. I’m certain that the North Carolina Bar will have a serious problem with the manner in which Klinkosum sneakily acquired representation of Shannon Nyamodi, but threatening statements of this nature could possibly result in his disbarment from practicing law in the state altogether. Attorney’s and their clients often have differences in the manner in which cases are being handled, and when parties are unable to resolve differences the appropriate fashion to handle such division is for the attorney to step down, or request from the judge to have their appearance excused from the case.

When a defendant’s life is on the line, having been locked up for over a year with no pending trial date, and facing potentially serious felony charges as in this case a defense attorney must demonstrate diligence on their client’s behalf. It’s an attorney’s obligation to protect his clients rights of expedient prosecution and it’s simply baffling that Klinkosum condoned the state’s motion to place the case on ice for such a long time without having ever appealed to the court for the purpose of having a new timetable stated on record in order to resume his client’s speedy trial rights after such an extended delay in the case’ prosecution. Now that more detailed information pertaining to Shannon’s case has been provided to TPC, perhaps a more clear understanding of Klinkosum’s poor handling of the youth’s case can be formulated. Klinkosum received an additional $20,000.00 dollars from Shannon Nyamodi’s uncle in the United Kingdom making the total amount $50,000.00 dollars of expenses paid to him by the Nyamodi family.

The manner in which he obtained representation of Shannon Nyamodi was illegal. Although Shannon is the adult defendant is this case, he didn’t pay Klinkosum to represent him. The Nyamodis told Klinkosum to his face when it was apparent to them that he wouldn’t be a good fit to represent Shannon that they were going to go with someone else, and his covert tactic of manipulating the youth into signing paperwork is an act which questions his ethics practiced related to this client and he should have known this. Klinkosum took advantage of the limited communication a defendant who is in custody has with the outside world to manipulate him into signing documents. He essential told the youth that his family had hired him as an attorney to get him to sign paperwork. Klinkosum contacted Shannon’s Aunt later and more than likely told her Shannon wants him to represent him, and that’s how he was able to obtain payment for his services (which have been non existent according to the family).

The Aunt of the defendant has postpartum depression and was having difficult stress issues related to a high risk pregnancy at the time she paid him. Her condition has deteriorated even worst since that time which the family believes Klinkosum honed in on to manipulate her into signing checks. Klinkosum refuses to speak with Ms. Crudup regarding her son’s case, in an effort she describes as a “divide and conquer” tactic to isolate her, who is challenged with mental deficiencies, from her and the family. Crudup is an extremely intelligent, articulate Oxford University Alumni, and would be a more suitable person to speak with from the family to assist in gaining Shannon’s freedom.

Mo11

Young Shannon Zacharia Nyamodi with his younger brother as a recent high school grad just months before his life was turned upside down and was placed in a county jail cell.

Mo2

Shannon Nyamodi during more happier days. His mom says her son was a well spirited kid who was well mannered, humble, loved people, and could never commit such a heinous act of violence which he is accused of.

 

The attorney’s refusal to speak with competent family members of his client (who actually paid him), his peculiar posture of allowing the state to archive Shannon’s case for nearly a year without protecting his speedy trial rights, and the recent threats he made to his client and other family members creates suspicion surrounding his integrity, ethics, and responsible duty to his client in this case. Attorneys associated with TPC advise that if Klinkosum had issue with Shannon Nyamodi revealing or divulging sensitive/confidential information in the case, his appropriate course of action should have been to request the presiding judge grant his withdrawal from appearing in the case. Threatening a defense client that he will “make sure he gets 30 years in prison” tends to infer some other dynamic transpiring with attorney Klinkosum that hasn’t fully been exposed. More importantly, Klinkosum directing Shannon not to speak to his mother about the case again is very compelling related to his mother’s earlier fears that Klinkosum was working against her son.

When Klinkosum allowed the state to take the pending criminal case against Shannon Nyamodi off the docket system without offering any kind of rebuttal to force prosecutors hands to present a case against his client, it demonstrated that he may not have had his client’s best interest at hand, and if either party needed extra time to prepare their case the judge could have simply granted a postponement (a common practice). However, removing a criminal case from the docket system altogether is almost never heard of in most jurisdictions around the nation. Cases are often removed from the active docket and placed in a “Stet Docket” (inactive) while prosecutors often lack sufficient evidence to try a case, but such procedural action by prosecutors almost always comes with conditions. Prosecutors come to an agreement with defendants where they promise not to pursue criminal charges for a period of time, as long as the defendant remains out of trouble. Shannon Nyamodi’s case wasn’t even on that docket, but rather in the court’s archive which is typically the destination for cases with a final disposition.

It’s very disturbing that the court was successful in overlooking Shannon’s right to speedy prosecution and simply unconscionable that the state did so with the assistance of the defendant’s own legal counsel. By now Klinkosum should have a good understanding of all of the evidence the state alleges to have against his client, and the state knows what it has, and considering these facts it raises concern and a consistent argument as to why neither side is in no hurry  to prosecute the criminal case against Shannon. Klinkosum has been busy in court the past year working other high profile criminal cases. He has recently started jury selection for another Franklin County case which is in conflict with his January 21. 2014 court date in which he is suppose to be representing Shannon Nyamodi. It makes the inquisitive mind wonder how much he is being paid for those cases, because he was paid $50,000.00 dollars to represent Shannon and hasn’t filed a single motion in the case on behalf of his client. View a News article clip related to a Franklin County criminal that Klinkosum his handling below:

IMG_20140117_120531

Attorney Mike Klinkosum is handling a high profile murder case which conflicts with his court date of Shannon Nyamodi’

IMG_20140117_120506

A year later the attorneys in the case haven’t filed any motions to move the case forward and the defense attorney has began to threaten his client and members of his family because of national attention related to Shannon Nyamodi’s human rights case. It may be time for a federal investigation into the state court system to see how many more Shannon Nyamodis are locked up with no pending charges in the court’s docket system. Obviously in North Carolina criminal cases are handled differently down there in comparison to other states, so if you happen upon Franklin County, don’t drink the water. It just might be contagious.

To Be Continued ..

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m Daid Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

When young Shannon Nyamodi was charged with an awful crime back on August 16, 2012 in which police authorities allege the black youth shot Rhonda MacClean in the face at point blank range and robbed her in the town of Youngsville, North Carolina, his family in the U.S., Africa, and other nations abroad chipped in to raise the youth’s legal expenses. They hired well known North Carolina attorney Maitry “Mike” Klinkosum to defend Shannon in a case many believe the teen was essentially setup and framed as the assailant who perpetrated such a heinous crime.

Klinkosum who is actually a former state prosecutor, has done nothing to aid Shannon Nyamodi in his quest to regain his freedom. From the very start the plight of a young man who had no prior criminal history, and wanted to join the U.S. Armed Forces, was faced with a tremendous upheaval. When his family began shopping around for an attorney to defend him, Klinkosum had been hired as Shannon’s defense counsel, but was even told later on by the Nyamodi family that they were going to go with someone else. The family had sought to get their money back ($30,000.00) before Klinkosum manipulated Shannon into signing paperwork naming him as his attorney. He visited the Nyamodi youth at the county jail on a Sunday and stated that if he signed the documents he would have him out of jail by Monday morning at the latest. The teen’s naivety to the criminal justice process, and his family’s inexperience related to obtaining a hired lawyer is exactly how Klinkosum became the youth’s attorney.

Klinkosum’s actions have been so counterproductive in defending Shannon Nyamodi that his mother is convinced that he is working for the prosecution against her son. The mother’s fears have just taken center stage in recent days. Ms. Elizabeth Crudup (Shannon’s mother) spoke with her son over  the phone this past Tuesday (1/14/2014) and was told by him that he couldn’t speak with her any longer until after his upcoming court date (1/21/2014). She was so alarmed by her son’s bizarre comments, his frame of mind, and began to quiz him. The youth told his mother that attorney Klinkosum had threatened him with jail time. According to Crudup, her son had even told jail officials that he no longer wanted contact with his mother. Extended dialogue between Shannon and his mother revealed that his own attorney had stated, “if you talk to your mother again or anyone else related to his case, I will make certain you get 30 years in prison.” Shannon’s younger sister also received a text message from her Aunt (the family member who wrote the $30,000 check) stating that Klinkosum had threatened to help the state prosecute Shannon also. Klinkosum apparently has taken issue with the National attention Shannon Nyamodi’s story has garnered in recent weeks.

When Ms. Crudup went to Klinkosum’s office to give him a copy of the Habeas Corpus document for her son at the direction of judge Hobgood, a secretary requested that she leave the building immediately because they (Law office) wasn’t taking anything from her. Crudup luckily had an entourage with her on that day, and when she left the  building the Habeas document was accepted by an office secretary from others who had accompanied her there. Klinkosum had been so inept representing Shannon Nyamodi that his mother began investigating why the criminal process in her son’s case was taking so long. She discovered that Klinkosum had agreed to allow the state to take the youth’s case off the North Carolina Superior Court Management Docket System indefinitely. The attorney’s actions related to such a motion granted by the court raised suspicion by the Nyamodi family. Why would any defense attorney ignore his own client’s right to a speedy trial and allow him to languish in jail for an infinite period of time?

The case has been off the docket for nearly a year with no pending charges against Shannon Nyamodi, and his attorney hasn’t made any effort to bring the case into court. In fact, the only reason Shannon will be making a court appearance on the 21st is because Action for Justice (a criminal justice advocacy group) composed a Habeas document outlining the severity of constitutional rights violations related to the case. The day Ms. Crudup presented the Habeas to judge Hobgood, a county court clerk was listening in on a phone call via speaker from Crudup to Klinkosum’s office, advising him of Shannon’s January 21, 2014 court date to address the Habeas. The county clerk overheard Klinosum’s office stating that they wouldn’t be in court on that day because the attorney was too booked. Continued exposure of the case more than likely resulted in a volume of calls to the attorney’s office, and on January 11, 2014 Klinkosum telephoned Ms. Brenda Nyamodi who is Shannon’s Aunt, and advised her that he would be returning the $30,000.00 in it’s entirety and would quit the case on Monday (1/13) because Shannon’s mother had put his name all over the internet and that he has a family which he was afraid some crazy person might attempt to harm.

Monday came and went without the money being returned, and on Tuesday Shannon advised his mother that Klinkosum threatened him by helping the state convict him with a 3o year prison sentence. Klinkosum notified Brenda Nyamodi on Wendsday and made similar threats pertaining to Shannon’s mother involvement in the case. These strange turn of events with Klinkosum backing off on his plans to quit the case are very alarming. I’m certain that the North Carolina Bar will have a serious problem with the manner in which Klinkosum sneakily acquired representation of Shannon Nyamodi, but threatening statements of this nature could possibly result in his disbarment from practicing law in the state altogether. Attorney’s and their clients often have differences in the manner in which cases are being handled, and when parties are unable to resolve differences the appropriate fashion to handle such division is for the attorney to step down, or request from the judge to have their appearance excused from the case.

When a defendant’s life is on the line, having been locked up for over a year with no pending trial date, and facing potentially serious felony charges as in this case a defense attorney must demonstrate diligence on their client’s behalf. It’s an attorney’s obligation to protect his clients rights of expedient prosecution and it’s simply baffling that Klinkosum condoned the state’s motion to place the case on ice for such a long time without having ever appealed to the court for the purpose of having a new timetable stated on record in order to resume his client’s speedy trial rights after such an extended delay in the case’ prosecution. Now that more detailed information pertaining to Shannon’s case has been provided to TPC, perhaps a more clear understanding of Klinkosum’s poor handling of the youth’s case can be formulated. Klinkosum received an additional $20,000.00 dollars from Shannon Nyamodi’s uncle in the United Kingdom making the total amount $50,000.00 dollars of expenses paid to him by the Nyamodi family.

The manner in which he obtained representation of Shannon Nyamodi was illegal. Although Shannon is the adult defendant is this case, he didn’t pay Klinkosum to represent him. The Nyamodis told Klinkosum to his face when it was apparent to them that he wouldn’t be a good fit to represent Shannon that they were going to go with someone else, and his covert tactic of manipulating the youth into signing paperwork is an act which questions his ethics practiced related to this client and he should have known this. Klinkosum took advantage of the limited communication a defendant who is in custody has with the outside world to manipulate him into signing documents. He essential told the youth that his family had hired him as an attorney to get him to sign paperwork. Klinkosum contacted Shannon’s Aunt later and more than likely told her Shannon wants him to represent him, and that’s how he was able to obtain payment for his services (which have been non existent according to the family).

The Aunt of the defendant has postpartum depression and was having difficult stress issues related to a high risk pregnancy at the time she paid him. Her condition has deteriorated even worst since that time which the family believes Klinkosum honed in on to manipulate her into signing checks. Klinkosum refuses to speak with Ms. Crudup regarding her son’s case, in an effort she describes as a “divide and conquer” tactic to isolate her, who is challenged with mental deficiencies, from her and the family. Crudup is an extremely intelligent, articulate Oxford University Alumni, and would be a more suitable person to speak with from the family to assist in gaining Shannon’s freedom.

Mo11

Young Shannon Zacharia Nyamodi with his younger brother as a recent high school grad just months before his life was turned upside down and was placed in a county jail cell.

Mo2

Shannon Nyamodi during more happier days. His mom says her son was a well spirited kid who was well mannered, humble, loved people, and could never commit such a heinous act of violence which he is accused of.

 

The attorney’s refusal to speak with competent family members of his client (who actually paid him), his peculiar posture of allowing the state to archive Shannon’s case for nearly a year without protecting his speedy trial rights, and the recent threats he made to his client and other family members creates suspicion surrounding his integrity, ethics, and responsible duty to his client in this case. Attorneys associated with TPC advise that if Klinkosum had issue with Shannon Nyamodi revealing or divulging sensitive/confidential information in the case, his appropriate course of action should have been to request the presiding judge grant his withdrawal from appearing in the case. Threatening a defense client that he will “make sure he gets 30 years in prison” tends to infer some other dynamic transpiring with attorney Klinkosum that hasn’t fully been exposed. More importantly, Klinkosum directing Shannon not to speak to his mother about the case again is very compelling related to his mother’s earlier fears that Klinkosum was working against her son.

When Klinkosum allowed the state to take the pending criminal case against Shannon Nyamodi off the docket system without offering any kind of rebuttal to force prosecutors hands to present a case against his client, it demonstrated that he may not have had his client’s best interest at hand, and if either party needed extra time to prepare their case the judge could have simply granted a postponement (a common practice). However, removing a criminal case from the docket system altogether is almost never heard of in most jurisdictions around the nation. Cases are often removed from the active docket and placed in a “Stet Docket” (inactive) while prosecutors often lack sufficient evidence to try a case, but such procedural action by prosecutors almost always comes with conditions. Prosecutors come to an agreement with defendants where they promise not to pursue criminal charges for a period of time, as long as the defendant remains out of trouble. Shannon Nyamodi’s case wasn’t even on that docket, but rather in the court’s archive which is typically the destination for cases with a final disposition.

It’s very disturbing that the court was successful in overlooking Shannon’s right to speedy prosecution and simply unconscionable that the state did so with the assistance of the defendant’s own legal counsel. By now Klinkosum should have a good understanding of all of the evidence the state alleges to have against his client, and the state knows what it has, and considering these facts it raises concern and a consistent argument as to why neither side is in no hurry  to prosecute the criminal case against Shannon. Klinkosum has been busy in court the past year working other high profile criminal cases. He has recently started jury selection for another Franklin County case which is in conflict with his January 21. 2014 court date in which he is suppose to be representing Shannon Nyamodi. It makes the inquisitive mind wonder how much he is being paid for those cases, because he was paid $50,000.00 dollars to represent Shannon and hasn’t filed a single motion in the case on behalf of his client. View a News article clip related to a Franklin County criminal that Klinkosum his handling below:

IMG_20140117_120531

Attorney Mike Klinkosum is handling a high profile murder case which conflicts with his court date of Shannon Nyamodi’

IMG_20140117_120506

A year later the attorneys in the case haven’t filed any motions to move the case forward and the defense attorney has began to threaten his client and members of his family because of national attention related to Shannon Nyamodi’s human rights case. It may be time for a federal investigation into the state court system to see how many more Shannon Nyamodis are locked up with no pending charges in the court’s docket system. Obviously in North Carolina criminal cases are handled differently down there in comparison to other states, so if you happen upon Franklin County, don’t drink the water. It just might be contagious.

To Be Continued ..

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m Daid Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

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